Josele Ballester Breaks Through - Two New Players Join LIV Golf League
Josele Ballester wins the 2025 PIF Saudi International at -22, while Scott Vincent and Yosuke Asaji secure LIV Golf exemptions through the International Series Order of Merit.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
- Miguel Tabuena's 2022 Season: On the Brink
- Victory at Home in the Philippines
- International Series Rankings and LIV Golf Implications
- What's Next: Final Three Events
- This Week: Hong Kong Open
At the end of each Asian Tour status, a players status for the following season is determined by their place on the Order of Merit. The Order of Merit on the Asian Tour is functionally a money list, and the top 70 players retain full status for the following season.
Following the 2022 Indonesian Masters, the final event of the season, Miguel Tabuena was ranked 70th on the dot, less than $100 above Dodge Kemmer, an American who's been grinding on the Asian Tour for years.
At any point in that season, one stray drive or one missed putt would have resulted in Tabuena losing his status on the Asian Tour. It was $71.98 to be exact.
Fast forward to this past weekend at the International Series Philippines hosted by Sta Elena Golf Club and things couldn't be more different for Tabuena. He comes out on top in the event that not only features the strongest field of the season thus far, but one of the highest purses. An opening round of 69 had kept him in the mix, but he'd follow that up with three consecutive rounds of 65 to eventually win by three shots.
Miguel takes home the lion's share of the 2 million dollar purse, $360,000. Not only is that over six times his total season earnings from 2022, it vaults him to third place in the Asian Tour Order of Merit, and second place in the International Series Rankings.
He'll be pleased with the former but ecstatic about the possibilities that come with the latter. In previous seasons the leader of the International Series Rankings has been awarded a golden ticket, a full spot on LIV Golf for the following season. This year it's expected that it will be not just the winner, but the top two that received the coveted prize.
In just three years Miguel Tabuena has gone from winning just shy of $60,000 over the course of an entire season, to being just a couple of months away from securing his spot on the game's global tour and all but guaranteeing himself the best year of his career.
With just three events left on the International Series calendar, he's positioned himself nicely to make a massive jump in his career. He'll be looking to follow up last week's strong play again this week, at the Hong Kong Open, and next at the Singapore Open. Then, after a two week break, the International Series concludes at the PIF Saudi International, which will feature elevated International Series Ranking points.
Former LIV Golf member Scott Vincent has himself positioned very nicely to secure a spot back on LIV Golf next season as he leads the International Series Rankings by a large margin.
At this time, it's unclear how current status on LIV Golf affects these rankings, though in the past if a player who was already a member on the tour had won the spot, it wasn't deferred to the next eligible player. Let's hope that changes for this season.
This week, Patrick Reed looks to defend last year's title at the Hong Kong Open, one of the final three International Series events. Lots of LIV Golf players are in the field as they look to stay sharp during the offseason, including Talor Gooch, Adrian Meronk, Graeme McDowell, Joesele Ballester, Jason Kokrak, Charles Howell III, Thomas Pieters, Dean Burmester, Richard Bland, Dave Puig, and more.
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